Would we have been better off if Moeller didn't resign?

What IF we had not played Colorado?

Sure, just like it would have been better if those islamofascists hijackers didn't fly into the WTC or if Hitler never came to power or if that drunk girl from the sorority back in college didn't puke on my shoes or if I had picked all the winning lotto numbers. 

Had Moeller just stayed, we would have won the NC outrigh instead of having to share it with the Cornholers of Nebraska.

The better question is would we be better off if we hired someone other than RR?

Well, considering his drunken exploits one fateful evening, the only relevant question is whether he should have been retained as the Lions head coach.

I say yes.  The Lions would have been a much improved team those next few years.  If for no other reason, than that Millen would not have been hired.  Gah!!!  The one time all that loyalty that Henry Ford the Senior had for his employees would have been worth it to that team...

Yes.

I think yes.

And also yes if Les Miles would have worked out in 2008 or 2011.

I like your other accounts better.

This looks like a thread that Michiganfan1984 would post. Hmm. 

How on earth are users allowed to post stuff like this?  Absolutely absurd.  

Well we all sure would be better without the idiot "fan" who doesn't have enough respect to let a man have a meal with family.

I remember Moeller's offenses as being explosive and fun to watch.  That may have been a function of talent -- Howard, Biakabutuka, Wheatley etc. -- as much as coaching but they were enjoyable. 

There's no way of knowing what would have happened if Moeller had stayed and Carr had significant success (not just 1997, but 1999 and 2006 was great years as well).

To me the more interesting question was whether his resignation was inevitable.  As I recall he was advised by the Dept to stay quiet.  I think if he had immediately (and convincingly) apologized, and possibly committed to some kind of alcohol counseling, the public opinion and media tide may have turned toward something like forgiveness.  

Moellee was undefeated vs OSU. they were PETRIFIED of him ... Having said that he'd have stayed awhile, and done great. He brought the vertical game to Michigan football.  Eventually he's retire, alot earlier than Lloyd did, so we would either have had Lloyd for a bit, leaving us in same spot, or never a Lloyd and someone else. 

I'm not sure the program would have been improved by keeping an alcoholic as head coach as opposed to the guy who won a national title. 

Would we be better if we had cryogenically frozen Fitz Crislers head and allowed him to continue coaching to this day?

In the wake of the Big Ten East's ethical catastrophe, I admire Lloyd Carr more and more.

Watching WD drop stupid bombs and then completely bail convinces me even more that he is a troll. 

Short answer: no. Long answer: nope. 

Well, I wouldn't want to do anything that screws with the timeline of winning the National Championship in 1997. Lloyd Carr was a defensive coordinator, and I have to believe that some of the hard-nosed mentality of that team was due to him.

That said, we arguably failed to play to our potential from 1998-2007 because of unimaginative offenses. Moeller was an offensive guy, and I remember some of the early-90s offenses being reasonably creative for the time. It's possible we would have broken through more in those seasons with Moeller instead of Carr.

One other thing to consider is that Moeller is four years older than Carr. Carr retired when he was just 62, so maybe that wouldn't have made a difference. But if we imagine that Moeller would have retired in 2003 or so, then we probably hire a different coach to take over from him. Not sure who that would have been, but it's worth noting that Urban Meyer had roots in the upper midwest and got his first P5 coaching job in 2005, if you want to think about a crazy counterfactual...

He recruited really well. He recruited Woodson,Griese,Dreisbach, Ray,Steele and others. Lloyd won with his recruits. Hard to say. He won The Rose Bowl.